Step into the frozen world of the Arctic and meet one of the planet’s most powerful, and vulnerable, predators: the polar bear. This BBC video playlist dives into the daily life of these majestic animals, from caring for playful cubs to navigating treacherous ice in search of food.
Through stunning footage and expert narration, learners will explore how polar bears adapt to extreme cold, hunt for seals, and survive in one of Earth’s harshest environments. Along the way, they’ll also discover how climate change is threatening the polar bear’s icy home, and why protecting it matters.
In Watch Polar Bears After Hibernation, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how a mother polar bear and her cub hunt after waking up from hibernation. Learn how a mother polar bear tries to find a seal under the ice. Watch a polar bear cub learn and play. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In How Walruses and Polar Bears Survive in the Arctic, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows walruses gathered on low-lying islands, where they nurse their young after giving birth on sea ice. Meanwhile, a male polar bear, weakened after seven days at sea and having lost half his weight over the summer, swims ashore in search of food. However, the massive walruses, the largest seals in the world with tusks over 3 feet (1 meter) long, prove to be a tough challenge. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bears Forced to Adapt to the Vanishing Ice, narrator Sir David Attenborough follows a male polar bear whose icy world has disappeared, forcing him to swim in search of food. Female polar bears remain on land with their young, while the male bear searches for a seal on floating ice. The bear dives and maneuvers through chunks of ice, demonstrating remarkable swimming skills. This bear is far from shore, battling ocean currents, and must find land soon to avoid drowning. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bear Cubs Face a Challenging First Year, narrator Sir David Attenborough introduces a mother polar bear and her two young cubs as they emerge from their den after five months beneath the snow. The cubs must quickly adapt to their harsh environment, learning to navigate steep slopes and frozen terrain. Their mother, who has not eaten in months, must now guide them across the sea ice to find food before her milk runs dry. As the ice begins to melt, survival becomes even more difficult. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bears Emerge During Spring in the Arctic, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how daylight returns to the Arctic after four months of total darkness. Two polar bear cubs emerge from their den, seeing and hearing the world outside for the first time. Watch as the mother toboggans down a snowy slope and then feeds her hungry cubs. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In What Happens When Polar Bears Wake Up Hungry?, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains that a mother polar bear must hunt seals before the spring ice melts. However, a blizzard threatens her two young cubs, and the sea ice is a dangerous place for them. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Splash! Polar Bear Cubs Take to the Water, host Andy Day follows two polar bear cubs have been walking on ice all winter. Now the ice is melting and it’s time for their first swim! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Andy’s Animal Babies, in which Andy Day explores the lives and experiences of baby animals.
In Polar Bears in Winter, narrator Sir David Attenborough highlights a polar bear waiting through the Arctic winter with little food and in harsh conditions. Nearby, polar bear cubs are born tiny and blind. The polar bear cubs spend the winter cuddled with their mother where they drink milk so rich they can double their weight every few weeks. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
In Polar Bears in Autumn, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how autumn is beginning and polar bears are gathering along the edge of the water to wait for the ocean to freeze. Bears bide their time by play fighting and finding anything they can to gnaw on. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
In A Polar Bear Cub’s First Summer, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows how a polar bear family adjusts to the changing summer landscape. As ice sheets melt and send water cascading over ice cliffs, the polar bears must adapt to living with less ice and more water. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
In Polar Bears on the Hunt, narrator Sir David Attenborough follows a mother bear and her cubs as they cross the Arctic ice in search of seals. When the bear cubs start to play, the mother bear steps in to keep them from disturbing her hunting. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
Step into the frozen world of the Arctic and meet one of the planet’s most powerful, and vulnerable, predators: the polar bear. This BBC video playlist dives into the daily life of these majestic animals, from caring for playful cubs to navigating treacherous ice in search of food.
Through stunning footage and expert narration, learners will explore how polar bears adapt to extreme cold, hunt for seals, and survive in one of Earth’s harshest environments. Along the way, they’ll also discover how climate change is threatening the polar bear’s icy home, and why protecting it matters.
In Watch Polar Bears After Hibernation, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how a mother polar bear and her cub hunt after waking up from hibernation. Learn how a mother polar bear tries to find a seal under the ice. Watch a polar bear cub learn and play. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In How Walruses and Polar Bears Survive in the Arctic, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows walruses gathered on low-lying islands, where they nurse their young after giving birth on sea ice. Meanwhile, a male polar bear, weakened after seven days at sea and having lost half his weight over the summer, swims ashore in search of food. However, the massive walruses, the largest seals in the world with tusks over 3 feet (1 meter) long, prove to be a tough challenge. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bears Forced to Adapt to the Vanishing Ice, narrator Sir David Attenborough follows a male polar bear whose icy world has disappeared, forcing him to swim in search of food. Female polar bears remain on land with their young, while the male bear searches for a seal on floating ice. The bear dives and maneuvers through chunks of ice, demonstrating remarkable swimming skills. This bear is far from shore, battling ocean currents, and must find land soon to avoid drowning. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bear Cubs Face a Challenging First Year, narrator Sir David Attenborough introduces a mother polar bear and her two young cubs as they emerge from their den after five months beneath the snow. The cubs must quickly adapt to their harsh environment, learning to navigate steep slopes and frozen terrain. Their mother, who has not eaten in months, must now guide them across the sea ice to find food before her milk runs dry. As the ice begins to melt, survival becomes even more difficult. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bears Emerge During Spring in the Arctic, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how daylight returns to the Arctic after four months of total darkness. Two polar bear cubs emerge from their den, seeing and hearing the world outside for the first time. Watch as the mother toboggans down a snowy slope and then feeds her hungry cubs. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In What Happens When Polar Bears Wake Up Hungry?, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains that a mother polar bear must hunt seals before the spring ice melts. However, a blizzard threatens her two young cubs, and the sea ice is a dangerous place for them. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Splash! Polar Bear Cubs Take to the Water, host Andy Day follows two polar bear cubs have been walking on ice all winter. Now the ice is melting and it’s time for their first swim! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Andy’s Animal Babies, in which Andy Day explores the lives and experiences of baby animals.
In Polar Bears in Winter, narrator Sir David Attenborough highlights a polar bear waiting through the Arctic winter with little food and in harsh conditions. Nearby, polar bear cubs are born tiny and blind. The polar bear cubs spend the winter cuddled with their mother where they drink milk so rich they can double their weight every few weeks. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
In Polar Bears in Autumn, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how autumn is beginning and polar bears are gathering along the edge of the water to wait for the ocean to freeze. Bears bide their time by play fighting and finding anything they can to gnaw on. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
In A Polar Bear Cub’s First Summer, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows how a polar bear family adjusts to the changing summer landscape. As ice sheets melt and send water cascading over ice cliffs, the polar bears must adapt to living with less ice and more water. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
In Polar Bears on the Hunt, narrator Sir David Attenborough follows a mother bear and her cubs as they cross the Arctic ice in search of seals. When the bear cubs start to play, the mother bear steps in to keep them from disturbing her hunting. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.